Zimbardon Prison Experiment

The experiment began on August 14, 1971 and was intended to run for seven to fourteen days
(Haney 4). The selection process was meant to choose the most normal, stable students out of the applicants to ensure the results of the experiment were not changed by the subjects’ predispositions. Zimbardo’s goal with the experiment was to put participants that were deemed normal and average and see how the prison environment and their roles in it changed them over time.(Haney 4) The volunteers were chosen from a group of 75 volunteers who responded to a newspaper ad. The volunteers were told they would receive fifteen dollars a day to participate in a study of prison life. To make sure the subjects were "normal" they were given questionnaires and underwent a series of psychological tests. None of the subjects were friends since that would affect the results.(Haney 4) …show more content…
The goal of the mock prison was not to create an exact copy of an American prison but to create a prison that would convey a sense of imprisonment and function like a normal prison. They also could not allow for severe physical punishment of physical violence among the prisoners, and they were not able to simulate certain aspects of living in prison. However, despite all of this the researchers believed their prison environment resembled a real prison closely enough to get accurate results. The prison was made up of three small cells each 6 x 9 ft with a cot for each prisoner and steel barred doors. A small 2 x 2 x 7ft closet was used for solitary confinement. The guards had several rooms they used as guard’s quarters and interview